The Easiest Way in Housekeeping and Cooking eBook

Simple but excellent. One large can of tomatoes
and one pint of water brought to the boiling-point,
and rubbed through a sieve. Return to the fire.
Add half a teaspoonful of soda, and stir till it stops
foaming. Season with one even tablespoonful of
salt, two of sugar, one saltspoonful of cayenne.
Thicken with two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour,
and one of butter rubbed to a cream, with hot soup
added till it pours easily. Boil a pint of milk
separately, and, when ready to use, pour into the
boiling tomato, and serve at once, as standing long
makes the milk liable to curdle.

OYSTER SOUP.

Two quarts of perfectly fresh oysters. Strain
off the juice, and add an equal amount of water, or,
if they are solid, add one pint of water, and then
strain and boil. Skim carefully. Add to one
quart of milk one tablespoonful of salt, and half
a teaspoonful of pepper, and, if thickening is liked,
use same proportions as in hasty tomato soup, and set
to boil. When the milk boils, put in the oysters.
The moment the edges curl a little, which will be
when they have boiled one minute, they are done, and
should be served at once. Longer boiling toughens
and spoils them. This rule may be used also for
stewed oysters, omitting the thickening; or they may
be put simply into the boiling juice, with the same
proportions of butter, salt, and pepper, and cooked
the same length of time.

CLAM SOUP.

Fifty clams (hard or soft), boiled in a quart of water
one hour. Take out, and chop fine. Add one
quart of milk, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and one
teaspoonful of salt. It will be necessary to taste,
however, as some clams are salter than others.
Rub one tablespoonful of butter to a cream with two
of flour, and use as thickening. Add the chopped
clams, and boil five minutes. If the clams are
disliked, simply strain through a sieve, or cut off
the hard part and use the soft only.

PUREE, OF FISH, VEGETABLES, ETC.

One pound of fresh boiled salmon, or one small can
of the sealed.

Pick out all bone and skin, and, if the canned is
used, pour off every drop of oil. Shred it as
fine as possible. Boil one quart of milk, seasoning
with one teaspoonful of salt, and one saltspoonful
each of mace and white pepper, increasing the amount
slightly if more is liked. Thicken with two tablespoonfuls
of flour, and one of butter rubbed to a cream, with
a cup of boiling water; add thickening and salmon,
and boil two minutes. Strain into the tureen
through a puree sieve, rubbing as much as possible
of the salmon through with a potato-masher, and serve
very hot. All that will not go through can
be mixed with an equal amount of cracker-crumbs or
mashed potato, made into small cakes or rolls, and
fried in a little butter for breakfast, or treated
as croquettes, and served at dinner.